𝗼𝗰𝗲𝗮𝗻 𝗵𝗲𝗮𝗿𝘁𝘀 | lo'ak x tsireya

𝟏𝟐 - jealousy

tsireya pov

the next morning, lo'ak's friends invited him to go hunting with them. he invited me to come as well. i said that i would not be as skilled and useful as them, but he dismissed the protest and encouraged me to come along. i eventually gave in to his pleading.

currently, our position was lo'ak and yuka at the front, carrying the bows and arrows, i was walking behind them with the satchel to carry the caught prey, and rinko and taey were holding hunting spears, walking behind me.

i was a bit intimidated when i first met lo'ak's old friends, as they all seemed to tower above me. täey was the tallest with a skinny build. rinko was more muscular and he was shorter than taey but taller than lo'ak. yuka was a very pretty girl, in my opinion. her facial structure was slim and sharp and her hair was pulled back in loose braids that fell out halfway down her back. she also had a skinny build, similar to täey's.

yuka was telling lo'ak everything that he had missed, and he had so many questions for her as well. rinko and täey were talking to each other about their previous hunts and arguing about who was better at catching prey with a spear. it didn't bother me that they weren't talking to me, i was content with enjoying the nature around me and being with lo'ak and his friends.

it slightly bothered me, however, at yuka's quickness to take my place by lo'ak's side and how easy it was for her to engage in a conversation with him and make him laugh. i pushed it off as lo'ak was the only one i was close to in the group, and his distance from me just made me feel a little unsettled.

"we're almost there, tsireya," lo'ak called over his shoulder, snapping me out of my thoughts. i nodded and smiled. we soon came to the edge of a clearing, with the sun hitting the grass, creating a soft green glow in the open space.

"wow, it's beautiful here," i commented. the rest of the group nodded in agreement.

"this was our favorite hunting spot, remember when we all pretended we were warriors here, lo'ak?" yuka laughed, clinging to his arm and tugging on it.

something twitched in my stomach at yuka's action. but to my surprise, i couldn't place my finger on what the feeling created. whatever it was, it felt unpleasant and awful.

"i remember that too," rinko chuckled, nudging täey's side. "and this skxawng here didn't want to play with us."

"shut up, rinko. that was ages ago," täey protested, then he straightened his posture and stuck his spear in the ground. "okay, now that we're here, let's split up into groups. rinko and i can take the tree tops, and maybe lo'ak and yuka can go to the rocks. tsireya, feel free to join whoever you would like."

"well, i can't climb trees, so i guess i'll go with lo'ak and yuka," i concluded.

"yeah, you skxawng," rinko laughed at täey, nudging his arm. "what made you think she could climb trees?"

the ignorance of rinko's comment stung a little but i shrugged it off.

"she could climb if we taught her," lo'ak interjected, noticing my face fall a bit. "i was able to learn the ways of water from tsireya."

"okay, you skxawngs. can we stop talking and start hunting?" yuka rolled her eyes, crossing her arms over her chest.

"fine. see you guys later," taey waved a hand, walking away from the group with rinko following.

"let's go," lo'ak started walking towards the rocky crevice on the other side of the clearing. i slung the satchel over my shoulder and followed behind the two. i waited patiently as yuka began climbing first, then lo'ak after her. i placed a careful foot on the first rock, my heart pounding in my chest. i was not confident that i could make it up. i heaved myself up, reaching for the next rock. to my dismay, it was a bit farther out of my reach.

"do you need some help?"

i looked up and saw lo'ak staring down at me, a few inches away from where i was. he slowly held out a hand, a small grin lighting up his face.

"yes, thank you," i breathed a sigh of relief, accepting his hand. he pulled me up with ease, guiding me ahead of him to the top of the crevice. once lo'ak made it to the top with us, he turned around.

"okay. yuka, why don't you go first," lo'ak suggested, handing her a bow and an arrow. "i wanna see how well you've improved."

"sure," she nodded, grinning cheekily. she leaned over the edge, searching for prey. she made a happy noise when she spotted a small animal scuffing around in the bushes. pulling back the string of the bow, she aimed the arrow in the direction of her target.

"woah, do you even remember how to shoot?" lo'ak laughed, walking up to her.

yuka narrowed her eyes, turning to face him. "uh, yeah i do. if you're so confident, why don't you help me, then?"

lo'ak sighed and took her hand holding the front of the bow, pointing it slightly downwards, aligning his body to hers. "now just focus on it... and release whenever you're ready."

yuka brought the string to her mouth, squinting and tilting her head so that it faintly touched lo'ak's. "like this?"

my stomach began to churn and i felt my face grow hot. the uncomfortable feeling returned, causing me to start fidgeting with the leather satchel on my strap. the closeness of yuka to lo'ak... it made me feel like something was crawling under my skin.

when yuka let go of the arrow, i suddenly felt the sharp ache return to my head from the other day. this time it was stronger, and i grimaced in pain. i put a hand to my head and squeezed my eyes shut, willing it to go away. it didn't. my lips also felt drier than usual.

"yay, i got it!"

"hey, you okay?" i heard lo'ak's voice close to my ear. i opened my eyes and saw him standing in front of me, his eyebrows creased with concern as he stared at me.

"yeah, my head just hurts," i admitted. "i think i'm going to go back now."

"are you sure?" he asked as yuka turned around. "will you be okay going back by yourself?"

"yes. i will be fine, i know my way back," i nodded, handing him the satchel. i turned around and slowly started making my way down the rocky crevice.

i heard yuka's voice call out as i landed safely on the grass.

"lo'ak, will you put the satchel down and help me again, please?"

the sound of their voices drained out as i began to walk back to the camp, my head throbbing. i couldn't focus on anything else but lo'ak and yuka's seemingly close friendship. for some reason, leaving them alone made me feel even worse. my eyes began to blur with tears as i walked through the forest, the trees and undergrowth blending into mushy colors of green and brown.

when i entered the camp, i kept my head down so that no one would notice my tear-stained face. i entered my tent and slowly slid to my knees, breaking down as i began to cry. the pain in my head would not go away, and i couldn't stop thinking about yuka laughing with lo'ak. as i wiped a hot tear streaming down my cheek, the realization of the feeling hit me. envy. i was envious of yuka. i was confused as to why even though lo'ak and i had both confessed to each other, i felt like i was losing him.

all of a sudden, i wanted to go home. i had always wanted to go back ever since lo'ak and i had been captured, but this time, i had never wanted anything so badly in my life. i thought of my mother's warm embrace, my father's smile, and ao'nung's teasing voice, even though it annoyed me to my core. i missed the feeling of water around me and the warm breezes that carried the scent of salty air. i missed the ocean in its entirety. i could not stop the tears from falling as silent sobs wracked my body.